Photo
by Sara Sidle Grissom
Summary: Epilogue added! Grissom finds something unexpected between a pile of casefiles. How is Sara taking everything? And what's up with Greg? GSR Complete.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I wanted to write another story (I know I need to continue the others too, and I will) but I wanted to write something like this. The idea is from inlya too P... Thanks to Cybrokat for beta-ing... THANK YOU! (for this and everything else) I hope you like it, will continue this soon. Please leave a review...**_

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Chapter 1:Grissom's POV:

When I park my car in front of the crime lab, I release a heavy sigh. I'm never late for work. I get out of my car and walk into the building. I avoid the gazes and walk as fast as I can to my office to get the assignment slips. But just when I thought I was lucky I didn't bump into anyone from the team I see Catherine coming around the corner. She has a big grin plastered on her face and I walk into my office, pretending I haven't seen her.

No luck again, she knocks on the open door and walks in. I turn around and notice she is still smiling. _I wonder what happened to her or, more specifically, who happened to her?_

"Gil, you're late... that's nothing like you. What happened?"

"My neighbor..." Just when I start explaining she holds up her hand.

"I don't think I wanna know." She laughs and turns around to leave.

I sigh and pick up the assignment slips from my desk. Not a busy night today: a B&E, a robbery and a possible car accident. I look at my desk, it's full of papers. _I should have taken more time to do the paperwork last night, now I'll still have a really busy shift doing all this._

"Catherine?"

She stops in her tracks and turns around. The smile had disappeared and she's looking at me seriously now.

"What's wrong? Paperwork bugging you again? You can forget it; I'm not going to do—"

Now I'm the one holding up my hand to stop her. _Hasn't she learned to keep her mouth shut? She always has something to say._

"Can you hand out the assignments for me, please? Then I can start with the paperwork immediately."

She nods and takes the slips from my hand. I thank her and when she leaves my office I slowly sit down in my chair. I take the case file from the top and open it. I start reading; it's an old case, although the trial is still running. I look at the crime scene photos and sigh again, sometimes cases are really hard, this was one of them. I remember Sara getting really involved with this one.

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_I walk into the break room and see Sara sitting at the large table, shift was over already but she was still going over the facts. I sit down beside her. She doesn't look up, but I know that she knows I'm here._

"_What are you doing here Grissom?" Her voice is cold and it scares me. She never speaks that cold. _

"_I can ask you exactly the same question Sara. You need to go home and get some rest; otherwise you will be of no use next shift. And I don't think you want to sit at home."_

_This gets her attention. She closes the case file and stands up to leave the room. When she is at the doorway she turns around. I see her cold glare and want to look away, but I know it is better not to. _

"_I'm fine, and I won't bother you again. I'll take this home and take a look at it there, so you don't have to see me. That sounds better doesn't it?"_

_I stand up and grab her wrist; she looks at me with confusion in her eyes. I swallow and look down, knowing what I want to say, but not knowing how to say it. I find the courage again and I look her in the eyes. I notice the tears starting to form there._

"_Let me go Grissom." _

_She pulls herself away from my grip and opens the door of the break room. I know she's mad at me. But I think I have to live with that. _

"_Sara, wait... Just listen to me. I know this case is hard for you..." At this she looks at me with a slightly raised eyebrow._

"_... it's hard for everybody. We see a lot of cruel things in this job, but children are the worst. I know how it affects you, me and everybody else. But please don't take your work home with you. I don't want you to become like me... please leave it here."_

_I stop and look down at the ground. She's sighing heavily; when I'm able to look her in the eyes again I see the tears, streaming down her cheeks. I don't know what to do, I want to wipe her tears away, to take her in my arms, but I know she won't appreciate any of this. _

"_What's wrong with being you? Why do you think it's bad to be like you? I mean... you're smart and... Never mind..." _

_With that she walks away, and I can only stare at the spot where she has been, just seconds ago.

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I close the case file, rub my eyes and stretch my back. I write some important things about the case down on a paper and slip it in the file. I look at the pile of other cases and think about how I am going to work through all this. I know these case files will take me the whole shift, I know it's not busy, but I want to do something useful. I know paperwork is useful too, but it just isn't any fun.

I take the next file from the pile and open it. My mouth opens slightly and I swallow hard. This was something I didn't expect between the case files. I look at the photo, there's a woman on it... Sara. The picture was taken in the locker room; she was wearing nothing but a black lace thong. I know I can't look at the photo and I put it away in one of my desk drawers until I can figure out what to do about it.

Again I try to get my attention back to the cases, so I open a new file and read the first page. This case was more recent, only a week ago. It was the homicide I worked with Sara. A man had abused and killed his wife, again a case which upset Sara. I remember taking her home after we caught the guy. I was really worried about her; she was shaking and hadn't eaten in a few days.

It has been a hard few months, many cases with abuse and sexual assault. Sara really was on the edge now... One more case like this and she was going to explode... I suddenly realize something. What if she finds out about the photo? _I need to destroy it._

Slowly I open my desk drawer, getting the photo out. I look at it again, seeing her beauty. I start at the top of her head, her small nose, cheeks and of course the gap between the two front teeth. I've always found that part of Sara very adorable. _I wonder if you can feel the gap when you kiss her... God Gil, keep yourself in line._

I look further down her body, her swan neck and her collarbones, I've always wondered if the skin will feel as soft as it looks. _If I could only taste a part of her... Gil!_ And then I'm finally there, her breasts... nice, round, curved. _I wonder how they would feel in my hands or against my chest..._ _don't go there Gil..._

Then her flat stomach... down to the black lace thong... you can see right through it... _don't think Gil, stop thinking, wait... keep breathing_. Then last but not least my eyes wander to her long legs, again I'm thinkinghow would it feel to have those legs wrapped around me._ Enough GIL, this is ENOUGH._

I stand up, not knowing what to do with this photo, but deciding to keep it in my locker until the end of shift. I'm thinking of taking it home with me, I know that's not good, so I decide to go and find out who made this photo. With the photo in my hand I stand in the middle of my office, feeling slightly dizzy.

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A knock on the door startles me and I look up, confused; I see Sara standing in the doorway, she's smiling at me. I smile back at her and she walks in. She wraps her arms around herself and looks at me.

"Hey, what were you doing?"

I know my cheeks start to flush, but I try to keep my gaze serious. I can't help but looking at her body, the same as on the photo, only this time covered in clothes. I find the courage to look at her again and sigh.

"I was just looking through some crime scene photos."

She raises an eyebrow and I see her wondering which case I am referring to. I hope I can stop her, because there's no way she can see this photo. It will make her feel bad and I don't want to feel responsible for her bad mood. First I'm going to figure out who made this photo and then, maybe, I'll tell her about it.

"Which case?"

_Crap. _I should have known she would be asking. I look down at the ground and swallow, thinking of the last case we worked together. When we worked on it together she would probably know the details of the crime, so she didn't need to see the photos.

"From the suicide a few days ago."

She smiles at me and grabs the photo out of my hand. In the process she says: "That's what I came to see."

When she looks at the photo I can see her face getting pale. She looks down and the ground and I hear her swallow hard. I take a step forward but she backs away, hands up in defense. When she looks up I see the anger, embarrassment and the sadness. Tears are welling up in her eyes and she looking at me intently. I see she thinks I made this; I read it in her eyes.

After a while Sara is able to speak again. Still intently gazing at me.

"Why?"

I shake my head, confused. I hope she knows I'll never do this. I know how embarrassed she is feeling, although I've never been in a situation like that. I take a step forward again but she pushes me away. She pushes so hard that I stumble against my desk.

"I didn't do this, Sara. I –"

I can't even finish my sentence; before I know it I hear the door of my office close with a loud bang. She's gone. I sigh and walk out of my office, looking around, I can't see her anymore. I walk back into my office and sit down behind my desk. With my elbows I rest on my desk and I drop my head in my hands. I swallow and close my eyes.

_What am I going to do?

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**A/N: TBC. Next chapter is Sara's POV... what is she going to do? Please review!**


	2. chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry it took me a while to update... I hope you like this chapter! I will start writing the next today or tomorrow, but I'm very busy with school so if I don't update for a while... don't be mad... Thanks to Cybrokat for beta-ing. Where would I be without you? Please leave a review...

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Chapter 2 – Sara's POV:

With the photo still in my hand I run to my car. Tears are falling and I want them to stop. _I shouldn't cry over something like this._ Grissom has hurt me... again. I open the door, throw the photo on the passenger seat and get in. I start the engine and turn my car out of the parking lot to drive to my apartment. When I turn my car I see Grissom standing outside, in front of the lab. _I'm not going to stop for that SOB.

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When I park my car in front of my apartment building, I take the photo and go inside. I rip the photo into a few pieces, open the trashcan and throw the pieces in it. I wipe my tears away and sigh. _What now?_

I walk to my kitchen, open the refrigerator and take out a bottle of water. But then I change my mind and take a bottle out of the bottle rack, vodka. I take a glass out of the kitchen cabinet and fill it with the liquid. In one drink I empty the glass. I take the bottle again and want to pour myself another, but I decide I can drink it straight out of the bottle too.

I walk to my couch and sit down. I stare in the distance; I can't stop thinking about the photo. _How could he do that to me?_ I take a few sips and lean my head back. I close my eyes, willing myself to change my thoughts. Every time I want to think of something else, the photo comes back in my mind. The way Grissom stood in his office with that photo in his hand. _I'm sure he was looking at it... I mean, he's a guy after all.

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A knock on the door startles me. I look up and put the bottle on the coffee table. I slowly stand up and walk to the door. When I look through the spy hole I see Grissom. I sigh; I don't want to open the door for him. _Why is he here? Can't he just leave me alone?_

He knocks again and I give in. I open the door a little bit and look at him. He takes a step forward and swallows. I can see various emotions in his eyes, he's thinking. I open the door a little more and let him walk in.

"Why are you here?" The question is out of my mouth before I know it.

Grissom turns around to face me. He's looking confused. He picks the bottle of vodka from the coffee table and looks me in the eye. I grab it out of his hand and take a swallow.

"I'm here... because I'm worried about you."

I snort. _Yeah right... Like I would believe that Gris. Try a little harder next time._ I take a draught again and hand him the bottle.

"You can have some if you like."

He shakes his head and places the bottle on the table again. He takes a step forward to me and with that move I take a step backwards.

"Sara..."

"Don't 'Sara' me. You can't just come here and think everything will be okay now. I... I still can't believe you did this... What were you thinking?"

He looks at his feet and I hear him swallow. He's speechless and when he looks at me again I see that he is doubting whether to go or stay.

"I didn't do this Sara, I want to find out who did this... so can I have the photo?"

I stare at him with disbelief. _He wants to have the photo back? For what, finding his own fingerprints and mine on it?_ Giving the photo to him, I'm not even considering it. What is he expecting from me? That I will say to him: 'Hey Grissom, I don't care if you did this, let's just forget it.'? Or does he think that I will jump into his arms? I'm thinking of just forgetting this, thinking of giving in. _No Sidle, you are not going to give in. He has hurt you; don't let him get away with this._

"No, I'm not going to give it to you. You're unbelievable, you take a picture of me, and then you even have the balls to ask it back? I really can't believe you Grissom; after all you did to me, you still think I'm not hurt enough?"

I see Grissom opening his mouth to say something, but then closes it again. He knows it's better to let me say what I have to say and not interrupt me.

"Let's go over it once again, where do I start? Shall I start with me coming to Vegas? Okay, here we go. I came to Vegas because you asked me to. I was working on that case of Holly; I could have gone back to Frisco after that, but I didn't because I wanted to stay with you; I thought... I thought we would take a chance. Nothing happened of course, I should have known. Then we stayed up that night, with that dead pig... again I thought we would take a chance, mistake again. Then I'm willing to make a move again, by brushing 'chalk' of your face; not that there was any... Then you tell me to move on; but when I do you're hurt. You always want to keep me close, but never too close huh?"

I stop talking for a while; the tears are already starting to form in my eyes. I see Grissom staring at the ground; he doesn't know what to do or what to say. But I'm not finished yet, I have to continue; I have to tell everything I have on my mind.

"Let's see, what's next? The lab explosion, when I'm hurt you're calling me 'honey', then I ask you out for dinner and you just totally blow me off; of course I know why Gris, we all do. It's your hearing. You had surgery without telling me... And now I have something that hurt more than this all already did. You tell some suspect that you can't do it, that you're not able to risk your life for somebody. I heard that Grissom, I was standing in the other room, looking how you're telling Dr. Lurie that I'm not worth the risk."

At this comment Grissom's mouth opens and closes again, I see the tears in his eyes too. I don't care if he's hurt; I just need to let everything out now. This is not everything... I know that, but this is what hurt the most.

"I got pulled over by the DUI; again I thought we could make it, that everything would be okay from then on. Again I give you an opportunity to make a move, with telling you that you've always been just a little more than a boss to me. I even tell you about my past, but you just go on and ask Sophia for dinner. I haven't told you everything now, I mean... there's Lady Heather too, but I... this is the basics of all the things you did to me. But it wasn't enough, was it? You still needed to take a picture of me, to embarrass me huh? And now you want it back? NO way!"

I let myself fall on the floor, sitting on my knees. I cry harder and take the bottle from the table. I take a few draughts and then in a sudden burst of anger I throw it at Grissom. The bottle hits his arm and falls on the ground. I hear him groan in pain, but I ignore it. There's vodka everywhere now. I wipe my tears away and stand up to get a towel from the kitchen.

"I... Look Sara, I think you need the day off tomorrow. To calm down."

I turn around and walk back to him. I stand right in front of him and force him to look in my eyes. I see the fear. Before I know it I hit him on his cheek, I don't know why I did it but it felt good. He looks at me with disbelief. Normally I wouldn't be able to hit somebody, but with the alcohol in my system I can't control all my moves anymore.

"Just go away Grissom, leave me alone."

He shakes his head. "I'm not going away Sara, we need to talk..."

"I thought we already did. Now leave."

He shakes his head again and I'm getting angrier every minute. _Why can't he just leave? Why isn't he listening to me?_

"Grissom... GO AWAY!"

I yell at him, hoping that it will make it clearer. I walk to my door and open it, I point outside with my finger. He slowly walks outside but holds still in the doorway. He turns around to look at me.

"I didn't do this Sara..."

"Leave."

Finally he turns around and walks to his car. I wait until I see his car disappear in the crowd. I close the door with a loud bang and walk into my apartment to clean up the mess. I throw the broken pieces of glass into the trashcan and wipe the floor clean.

After that I take a long hot shower, when I'm in there I let the tears come again. I cry out loud and lower myself onto the ground in the shower cubicle.

_What am I going to do?_

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**TBC**

**Please leave a review...**


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N:I know it took me a real long time to write more on this. I wrote it during the night, yeah I stayed up, don't ask me why. I want to give this a huge warning: it's NOT beta-ed. I wanted to upload soon, lol._

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**Photo Chapter 3 – Grissom's POV**

When I get home I walk straight to the bathroom to examine my shoulder. I open the door with my uninjured arm and move to stand in front of the mirror. I look at my own reflection. Tired. Old. Injured. I slowly unbutton my shirt and take it off. On my left shoulder there's a nasty bruise visible. It covered almost my whole shoulder, part of the collarbone. I tried to move my arm but groan in pain; I need to get some ice on that. By the cold it will be benumbed.

I leave the bathroom to get and ice pack from the kitchen. I threw my shirt with the laundry; it still smells like alcohol. Slowly I move my feet out of the bathroom, into the living room and into the kitchen. I'm glad I always have an icepack in the freezer, you never know when you might need it. I put it on my shoulder and walk towards my couch. Carefully not to hurt my shoulder even more I sit down. Realizing a few minutes later that I have to put on a new shirt.

I get up again and walk towards my bedroom, opening one of the drawers to get a clean shirt. It has to be wide, so the icepack can still be under it. I carefully put it on and wince as my arm moves. _This is not going to work, the icepack alone won't help. I need to have somebody take a look at it; it's probably broken. _

With my clean shirt I move back to the living room, sitting down on the couch again, carefully. Slowly. I lean my head back and let out a deep sigh. I knew that Sara was going to be angry, I knew she wouldn't believe me. But her reaction just left me numb. I never took her for somebody to hit people, never thought she had it in her. She always seemed like someone patient, and… well, not somebody who would hit and throw things.

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A knock on my front door startles me from my thoughts, who could be here right now? Deep in my heart I know it isn't Sara, but the hope is there… Has she calmed down already? Maybe she realized that I wouldn't do anything to hurt her… on purpose.

"The door's open," I yell. Having an idea who might is standing on the doorstep. I don't want to talk to Catherine right now. She can't see me like this, otherwise she will get nosey again.

She walks in and sits down on the chair; she always sits there when she comes to visit her. And she always is trying to help me when she's here. _It's like I can't live my life alone, or is she just feeling that I need company?_

"Gil?" She walks closer to me, looking at my shoulder, which is now covered with an icepack and my hand on it. She comes even closer, bowing down, into my personal space. I don't want her so close, but she isn't going away.

"What happened?"

"It's fine… I'm okay." I know that I'm lying, and I know that she knows that too. But I don't want to tell her the truth; I don't want to tell her why I'm holding an icepack on my shoulder. I don't want to tell her why I feel the need to cry.

"You're sitting here… holding an icepack on your shoulder, your eyes burning with tears you want to cry… Please don't tell me your fine."

I knew it, she notices everything. I sigh and look her in the eyes. No need to tell lies anymore. I just have to tell her the truth now. I'm not daring to leave anything out, she'll notice.

"Okay…" I swallow. "It started with the photo I found last night. It was between my case files, it wasn't supposed to be there. So… I wanted to find out who had shot the photo, so I was walking out of my office, when she walked in, grabbing it out of my hand and—"

She stops me. "Wait, wait, wait… what photo?"

I sigh, how am I going to say this nice. Well, there isn't really another way to say it, so I decide to just tell her and let her handle it. "A photo, of Sara, in the locker room, almost naked."

"Oookay…"

"So she saw it and thought I had taken it, but I didn't do it. I just want to find out who did. I went to her apartment, told her I didn't do it, she didn't believe me… I asked her the photo back and she threw a bottle at me, right on my shoulder. She asked me to leave… I didn't want to, so she made me."

Catherine is looking at me, softly shaking her head. "That was just… tactless."

I look at her with one of those looks she hates. Indicating that she should be more nicely. She understands and I see her doubting in her head. Or she is going to keep saying things like she did before, or she was going to shut up soon and try to help me. Her decision was made soon enough, and she was going to try to help.

"Did you get any prints from it?"

"I don't have the photo, so I can't dust it for prints. I didn't have time to do that before, so… no…"

She is thinking… in silence. I always thought she was talking while thinking, I was wrong. The silence is long and I try to shift somewhat on the couch. I groan in pain and she is looking at me with concern.

"You need to have it checked out, I'm going to bring you to Desert Palm."

I shake my head. I don't need a doctor. It's just a bruise; it will be over in a few days. I'll be fine.

"No, I'm fine… I have other priorities now. You have any idea how I can get the photo back?"

She thinks again, shorter this time. "You have to ask her again, but with more tact than the last time. You have to bring it different, bring it with more emotion. Tell her you feel sorry for her, and… I don't know, just… be slimy."

I looked at her with a slightly raised eyebrow. "Slimy?" She can't be serious about this. I don't know how I'm going to do all this… I'm somewhat afraid to back, scared of Sara Sidle, but I do want to help her.

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Catherine stands up and holds out a hand to me, wanting to help me up. I sigh, like I did many times before and take her hand. She slowly pulls me up and I groan in pain. I look at her accusingly, but she merely shrugs. I walk with her, grabbing my keys from the counter and walking outside, locking the door behind us.

She's already standing next to the car, on the driver's side. I shake my head, there's no way I'm going to let her drive my car. She holds up her hand, in a gesture to catch my keys, but I shake my head again.

"Gil, you can't drive this way."

"Well, I perfectly managed on my way home from Sara's apartment."

"We're not going to argue about this, just give me the keys…"

When I don't give her the keys she holds up her hand again, shaking it lightly. I don't want to give her my keys, why can't she go with her own car; she can drive that one, why does she need to drive mine?

"Now…"

I finally give in, not wanting to, but knowing I have to go to the hospital and it would only take a long time before we get there. I throw her my keys and tell her to be very careful, at that comment she looks at me with a grin. Can I really trust her with my car?

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When we arrive at the hospital, after a lot of arguing in the car, we both get out and walk into the hall. She's already walking to the front desk, giving them details about my name, address, phone number… I find it annoying; she acts like I'm some small child who doesn't know his own name. When they ask her about my insurance number she looks at me. I shrug and get my insurance card out of my pocket. I pass her and give it to the woman behind the desk.

"A doctor will be with you soon…" The woman announces when she led me into a small examination room. I told Catherine to wait outside the room, not wanting her with me. For one because her nosiness, and I don't want to let the doctor think we're married.

When the doctor walks in I unbutton my shirt and let him examine the bruise. The doctor only looks at it for a few seconds, feels a few spots and sighs. "Mr. Grissom, there's only one thing this could be… a broken collarbone."

I nod at the man when I leave the room, my arm in a sling. I have to take a few weeks rest so the bone can heal. Looks like I'm going to have a lovely time, doing paperwork the next weeks.

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**TBC  
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_A/N 2: This chapter was bad... I was too tired to write... Well, anyway. R&R. I hope the next chapter will be better. Goodnight SSG_  



	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: They're not mine.  
Spoilers: Slight mention of bloodlines._

A/N: I didn't have this beta-ed because I wasn't patient enough to wait. So all mistakes are mine. I've waited so long with the update of this story, so I want to thank **Trish G** for mailing me about it and pushing me through to write the last few paragraphs today. It's the fisrt time I wrote something from Cath's POV and I hope I didn't screw up too much. Well, enjoy reading and please leave a review.

Note: When you want me to update sooner, please mail me...

Thanks to all the reviewers for sticking with this story so far! You all make my day, seriously!

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**Chapter 4 - Photo**

_Catherine's POV:_

When I come home after I brought Gil to his house, I let myself fall down on the couch. I sigh and rub my eyes; I know I've screwed up big time. I don't know what to do now, Gil is mad at me and I don't know about Sara, but I guess she won't be happy to see me either. But I do have to check on her, I do have to look if she's okay. With a groan I stand up and prepare myself to drive to Sara's apartment building.

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Twenty minutes and a lot of red traffic lights later I find myself in my car, parked in front of her apartment. The curtains are closed, but I can see the lights are on inside. I grab all my courage together and get out of my car. I see the lights flash when I push the remote control and I swallow. With confident steps I make my way to her door and softly knock on the wood.

There's no reaction. I knock again and listen if there's sound of footsteps inside... nothing. A third knock. "Sara?" When she doesn't open on this one either I try to push the door open. It's unlocked and I hear the hinge creak when I open it. All lights in her apartment are on, I scan the living room but there's no sign of Sara. I walk in, softly calling out her name. On the floor I see the bottle, the one, I presume, she threw at Gil. Her apartment is a mess, clothes everywhere. Dishes in the kitchen, empty beer bottles on the floor.

I shake my head as I make my way into the small hall. There are only two doors, one is slightly opened and I peek inside, bathroom. The other must be the bedroom then. I softly knock on that closed door and wait for an answer. Maybe she's asleep, and didn't hear me knock on the front door. But she doesn't open the door so I slowly push it open. A cold wind flows out, and I shiver a little. This room is dark, unlike the other rooms in her apartment.

I walk in and see that Sara is lying on the bed, on top of the covers. She's wearing nothing but her panties and I feel embarrassed for her. I walk closer to cover her under the blankets. When I touch her skin, I feel she's freezing. I see how she slowly opens her eyes, she looks horrible. Her breathing is short and difficult and she tries to sit upright. I help her and wrap her in the blanket, holding her close to me. My mind works on overload as I try to think of what happened to her. She whispers something inaudible and starts to cough... blood.

"Sara, what happened?" She doesn't answer me. She coughs up more blood and I feel her shiver. I stroke her back soothingly; meanwhile I fish my phone out of my pocket and call 911.

After I explained what is going on I hang up and focus my attention back on Sara. "Sara, wait a minute. I'm going to close the window, okay?" She slowly nods and coughs more. I stand up and make my way to the window; I close it with a loud bang and sit back next to her. I feel her forehead; she's hot, indicating a fever. I check for more, her heartbeat is rapid and her skin looks bluish.

"What happened to you?"

She looks at me with confusion, her gaze is strange. "I don't... know." She coughs again.

Slowly but steadily it gets to me. Fever, rapid heart beat, coughing blood, bluish skin... she has pneumonia.

Just at that moment I hear the sirens of the ambulance. The following minutes are spent in a haze; I don't remember what they all did. But I think they wrapped her in more blankets and now I'm sitting with her in the ambulance. They are giving her extra oxygen for her breathing and I see how she closes her eyes.

My eyes start to burn at the image. She is in pain and it's all my fault. I swallow and reach for her hand, to make sure she's still there. To make sure it's all real. How I wish this is all just a bad dream, from which I will wake up soon. But I know that's not true, I know that everything really happened. There's nothing I can change anymore. What have I done? I know that I never meant to do any harm; I just wanted to help them a little. But I could have known that Sara would lose it. A few months ago she had that alcohol problem which, I think, she overcame. I could have known that she would grab the bottle again. I should have known that she would try to drown her problems. With tears in my eyes I see the fragile form that used to be the strong Sara Sidle.

In my mind I see Gil, sitting on his couch, lost in thoughts. I can imagine how he is feeling at the moment. I'm supposed to be his best friend; I'm not supposed to hurt him like I did. Regret is growing as I continue to watch Sara, my stomach twitches and my breathing is heavier.

One of the paramedics looks at me with a concerned eye. But I wave my hand and whisper that I'm okay. My grip around Sara's hand tightens and I see how she opens her eyes. With a weak smile I tell her: "Everything's going to be okay."

* * *

When the car slows down I know we're at the hospital. The back doors open and I get out of the ambulance. Sara is being transported into the hospital rather fast, and I stay behind on the parking lot. I can't go with her inside, she doesn't want me there. My own mind tells me I'm not supposed to be there with her, but somebody else. But that's exactly the problem; she doesn't want him to be there. I turn at my place, looking around. I notice people walking together, visiting family or friends. I see people in wheelchairs, people with broken arms.

The world around me starts to spin and I have to sit down, I look around more and spot a bench near the door. With a sigh I sit down and rest my head in my hands. I have to call Gil; I have to explain what is going on. But... wait, when I do, he wants to come and he can't drive. I have to call one of the guys to get him and when he is here I have to explain.

Slowly I take my phone out of my pocket and dial Nick's number. After a few rings he picks it up. "Stokes."

I choke a little but am able to compose fairly quickly. "Nick, it's Catherine. I need to ask you a favor."

"Go ahead."

"Can you go get Grissom and bring him to Desert Palm?"

"Sure thing."

We exchange our goodbyes and I stand up again, slowly making my way to the sliding doors of the hospital. The hall is sterile, and it smells like disinfectioner. My heels make a hard sound on the floor as I walk towards the reception desk. I need to know where Sara is right now; I have to know before Gil gets here. "Excuse me ma'am. Where can I find Sara Sidle? She has just been brought in."

"Second floor, room 342. Just take that stairs and you'll find it soon."

With a quick 'thank you' I make my way upstairs. The room is far from the others, in the corner. The number 342 is gracing the wooden door, through the window I can see her lying on the bed, under the white sheets. Next to the door is a small bench where I sit down, waiting for Gil to come.

In the time that I am sitting there the doctors are walking in and out. I ask one of them about Sara's condition, my suspicion was right. She has pneumonia, but it's not that bad, they gave her some antibiotic so she can go home soon. With a sigh I lean my head back against the wall, maybe everything isn't as bad as it seems.

I have almost fallen asleep when I hear footsteps. My head snaps up and I see how Gil is slowly sitting himself down next to me. He is looking sad and I feel how my eyes burn again, and how the regret is starting to overtake my body once more. He is looking down at the floor, his hand in his lap, the other still in the sling.

"How is she?" He asks in a whisper.

"She's... going to be okay. She has pneumonia."

Silence.

I see how the tears are threatening to fall down, although he's trying to stay strong. He doesn't want to look weak in front of me, but I know he's about to cry. I want to give him some space, but I can't just yet. He has a right to know what happened, after that I can give him some time alone, with or without her, that's his decision.

"Gil?"

He doesn't even respond, he only looks at me with those sad eyes and I feel how my own tears are rolling down my cheeks. Why is it that I've hurt him so bad? I hate myself for what I've done to him, well... them. I need to get it of my chest and let him decide what he's going to do with the new information. I want him to get mad, to yell at me, cause that's much easier to cope with than disappointment.

"You should go to Sara, she needs you."

Now he does respond, his voice thick of emotion. "She doesn't want me there. She still believes I did it... I wish I could change that."

"You can."

"How?"

"Say that you didn't do it."

Before he starts to object I interrupt. My voice is like a whisper, but he heard it. "Tell her I did it."

* * *

**TBC**

_I love cliffhangers... Please review or mail me..._


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: This chapter is unbeta-ed. Thanks to Mel, Sina and KC for encouraging me. Thanks for all the awesome reviews. I wub you all! Okay, enjoy this chapter..._

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Chapter 5**

_Grissom's POV:_

I slowly leave the bench without looking at her. I just can't look into her eyes right now, not after what she just told me. Strangest part is that I'm not even mad at her... I don't feel anger right now. Disappointment? I think so, but that's not my concern right now.

"Gil?" A soft whisper behind me. I don't feel the need to look around and look at her. I just stop dead in my tracks and wait for her to continue.

"Can we please talk about this later?" I hear the tears in her voice, but I still don't turn around.

With big steps I walk away from here, in the direction of Sara's room. Silently I hope she is sleeping, so I can watch her without her sending me away.

The door opens with a creak and with my good hand I softly close it behind me. She is sleeping, her hair spread over the pillow. The sunlight lights her body and I see how pale she is. Her skin looks so thin, her body so fragile.

I slowly take the chair from the corner and place it next to the bed. I then sit down and watch her, every inch of her face. Then my eyes fall on her hand, lying on top of the cover. I want to take it, but on the other hand I'm afraid that she might wake if I do.

But I ignore my fear and take her hand, feeling the warmth of her skin. I let out a deep sigh at the feeling of her skin against mine, she's still here and she's fighting.

Now she's stirring and I fight the need to pull back my hand and run off. It wouldn't be fair, if she really needs me now I'll be there for her. If she doesn't... then I'll go, not before she tells me.

I gaze at her face and see how she slowly opens her eyes. She blinks and looks around somewhat, from one side of the bed, to the other. Then she sees me, her expression changes.

"Go." This one word is coming strong from her mouth. But then she starts coughing and closes her eyes for a second.

"Shh... Don't talk. Let me talk, honey." The words sound strange in my own ears. I only call her 'honey' on rare occasions. Okay... maybe this is one of them then.

"Catherine said I should go to you, I wanted to object. Because I knew you wouldn't want to see me now, you still think I did it right? I didn't... and I've tried to find out who did, but I couldn't, not without your help."

I hear how she snorts, but I go on. "Sara... I found the person who is responsible for this. Well, actually... that person found me."

"Who?"

"It's not easy to tell, I'm still shocked, hadn't expected it this way." I pause. It's hard to tell her. I'm wondering how she is going to take it, will she believe me? Will she yell at me? Will she cry?

"Sara, Catherine did it."

Silence. Complete silence. The steady beeping of machines is the only sound I can hear in the room at this moment. But when I listen more carefully I hear her breathing. She is looking at me with those big brown eyes of her, lost in thought.

For a long time we gaze at each other, the silence is comforting. There's no need to talk, it's enough to just enjoy this moment. Everything seems so peaceful, but... that's just a layer. Underneath everything is confusing... the world is full of questions that need to be asked, but right now time is standing still.

Then I see how she starts crying, tear drops making their way down her cheeks. They are glistening in the light of the room, looking like oval diamonds. But those change into waterfalls, salty waterfalls.

I lean forward and catch them with my thumbs, stopping them from falling. But it's useless; they roll over my thumbs and drip onto the white hospital sheet, leaving a wet spot.

"Shh... don't cry. It's okay now." I whisper soothingly.

I feel how she grabs my arms and pulls me to her, hugging me close. But she's careful, trying not to touch my shoulder. As she continues sobbing into my neck I softly brush a strand of hair out of her face.

"I'm so sorry..." She whispers against my skin. Carefully I pull back and reach for her chin, lifting her head so she can look into my eyes.

"You have nothing to be sorry about."

She continues to cry and I slowly sit down at the edge of the bed, pulling her against my good side. I wrap my arm around her and feel how she nestles against my chest, letting out a deep sigh, of which she probably didn't know she was holding.

"I'm sorry I threw that bottle at you." She sighs again and I pull her closer. I feel my own eyes burn too as I kiss the crown of her head.

"It's okay... it'll be okay. What's most important now is that you get home and recover. You shouldn't be worrying about anything right now okay?"

I feel how she nods against my chest and now I let out a sigh myself too. My thoughts drift off and after a while I feel how she leans heavier against me. I look down and see that she has closed her eyes... she has fallen asleep. Now I realize I wouldn't want to miss this anymore, this is the way it's supposed to be.

* * *

A week later I park my car in front of the hospital. I was lucky that Cavallo allowed me to take two weeks off. It went easier than expected. He didn't even ask my what for, he just signed the form and wished me a good vacation.

Vacation... yeah right. No, I would be taking intensive care of Sara. She was allowed to go home now, and I promised I would take her home with me. Yesterday her doctor went through the whole process with me. She explained that Sara would need a lot of sleep, food with a lot of vitamin-c and that she needed to stay warm.

With a quick nod I walk past the reception desk, they know where I'm going and don't need to ask any questions anymore. I walk up the stairs, take some lefts and rights and finally walk into the hall of Sara's room. I find my way almost immediately and swing the door open.

"You ready?" I say cheerfully. I'm glad she can go home now...

"You bet bugman." She says grinning.

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_A/N: I think I still have two chapters left for this fic. One will contain Sara and Catherine talking. The other will be Grissom taking good care of Sara... Please review..._


	6. Chapter 6

_Thanks: A huge thanks goes to Mel, I'm here for you hun whenever you need me. Think about her, she needs it right now._

_A/N: Thanks to everybody for sticking with me for so long to make it to this chapter. I know it has taken me a long time, due to a lot of personal stuff which kind of kept my mind off this. (Guys are important too right?) Anyway... I hope you all like this, there's not much new stuff in this chapter... and this is a way to be able to ride this fic a little longer than the original plan was. Enjoy and please read and review!

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_

**Chapter 6**

_Sara's POV:_

I have been sitting on the couch, watching cartoons for quite a while, when Grissom comes in with dinner. He smiles and sets the tray down on the coffee table. I turn off the TV with the remote control, and pick up the glass of water to swallow the medication he hands me.

He slowly sits down next to me and places his hand on my leg, squeezing softly. "How are you feeling?"

I'm glad he's acting so caring, this is a side of him I haven't met before, and I feel glad I have now. "I'm getting better." I tell him with a smile. After some thought I add: "And of course I have a good nurse."

"I'm a doctor." He says, with a somewhat annoyed glare.

With a grin, I mutter: "Could've fooled me."

He looks at me, and tickles me playfully in my side. "What did you say Sidle?" Carefully he slides closer to me and wraps his arm around me, taking the glass of water out of my hand with his other.

"Nothing." I say with my sweetest smile. Slowly and with hesitation I place my hand against his cheek, softly caressing his beard.

He doesn't look surprised or shocked, this gives me courage to move closer and place my other hand on his other cheek. Slowly I move my fingers against his beard, not daring to break the contact. We are looking each other straight in the eyes; which feels comforting.

He is pulling me closer with his good arm, and I'm careful not to hurt his other. My heart starts to beat faster in my chest as we move even closer. My arms find their way around his neck, and he places his hand on the bare skin of my back, just under my top.

After what seems like ages our lips meet, just pressing against each other; and of course we've got some bad luck, cause just at that moment the doorbell rings, and we break apart. I try to hide my blush as he stands up to open the door.

I listen carefully to the voices, that come from the front door. I can hear the guys, Nick, Warrick and Greg, and I hear another female voice... Catherine. 'What is she doing here?' I slowly stand up and see how she carefully pulls Grissom in a hug. He pushes her away and I hear him say: "Don't do this Cath."

"Gil..." She sighs. "You want to talk."

He nods and says: "We have to talk about what happened, but I'd rather not do that right now. Let's just have coffee and act like nothing happened, we'll talk later." He turns around and looks at me. "Just Sara and me." After saying that, he invites them all in and I turn back to the couch.

But before I can sit down I feel how Nick pulls me into a tight hug. "Sara sis, will you never ever do this to me again?"

With a smile I turn around in his arms. "Nah, next time we will together." I say with a wink and let myself be embraced by the other guys. I see how Grissom is observing me, and I smile softly at him.

Catherine shakes my hand, and I force a small smile; but deep down, I can't just pretend like nothing happened. 'I can't behave normally around her after she did this...' I release her hand and turn to Grissom, and move to stand close to his side. He puts his good arm around my waist and kisses the crown of my head.

"What the hell is this?" Greg exclaims from the hall. He is watching us with big eyes and everybody else turns to look at him. He coughs. "I'll get some coffee." And with that, he turns around and moves to the kitchen.

"Excuse me." I release myself from Grissom's embrace and move to the kitchen. I look over my shoulder and say: "I better go check up on him."

When I walk in, I see Greg is leaning against the counter, he's making coffee and looking down at the floor. "Greg?" I place my hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?" I smile softly at him as he looks up, and I'm wondering why is he's acting like this. 'This isn't because he has had a crush on me right?'

"I'm fine Sara." He says and fakes a smile.

I don't believe him, and I sit down at the breakfast bar. "Talk to me Greg. If you want something to change... then you have to tell me." Slowly I turn around and see he's having tears in his eyes. As quick as I can I stand up and move to stand in front of him. With some hesitation I pull him into an embrace, and I feel how he grips the back of my top, holding me tight. "What's wrong?" I whisper softly.

"Sara... I think I'm..." He stops. "Never mind. It's okay, I'll be okay." With that he moves out of my arms and walks to the door. "I'll come by another time."

After some moments, I pull myself together and join the group. I see how Grissom throws me a worried look; and I smile sadly, telling him with my eyes that we will talk about it when the group has left. He looks away from me again and I join the conversation between Nick and Warrick… although my mind is not really there. I only hear how they're talking about how Nick has found a girl, because of some bet he had made with Warrick.

I just can't stop thinking about what Greg had said. ' What did he mean? _I think I'm…_ What was he talking about?' To set my mind off it I enter the kitchen again to get myself a drink, but when I turn around I see Grissom is standing behind me and he takes the bottle out of my hand.

"Please Sara, don't start drinking now… just tell me what's going on." He places the bottle on the breakfast bar and wraps his arm around me, pulling me up against his chest. That's the point where I start crying, I'm not sure why… I'm just very emotional since I'm here. My tears wet his shirt and he is rocking me slightly.

"Shhh honey, don't cry."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you Griss, I just... I don't know what's happening anymore. I feel like I've lost complete control over everything, it's scary..." I pull back from him and wipe my eyes with shaking hands... not managing to dry my cheeks.

"Sara, you never did honey." As he sees how I start shaking again, he pulls me close again and whispers: "I think we better ask the guys to leave now, right? We'll talk with Catherine later..."

It's after that moment that we walk to the living room together, my eyes still red and puffy, ready to tell them we'd like to be alone right now. As we stop the guys look at us and I see how Catherine stands up, even before Grissom starts talking.

"I'm sorry to ask you to leave so soon, but Sara and I need some time alone right now." He looks at me while he says it, stroking my back soothingly.

The guys stand up too and get their coats. Nick gives me a brotherly hug and says: "If he ever hurts you, I'm here for you little sis." He pats Grissom shoulder and then puts on his coat. In a few minutes the gang has left and we're alone again.

"So..." Grissom says and sits down on the couch. He pats on the seat next to him and takes my hand.

I slowly sit down. "I think there's something going on with Greg." I say, like band-aid.

"What do you mean... wrong?"

"I think he's in love with me..."

**TBC**

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_A/N2: Okay, I hope you liked this, if you did... let me know please!_


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **Not mine, nopies. I would want them for my high school graduation though, in may.  
**A/N: **Thanks to Mel for betaing this! I love ya. And to KC for always being there for me too, love ya too sis. And of course a bigh thanks to MCNewYork, e-mailing with you means a lot to me, thank you for that! And know that I'll always be here to listen to you!  
And for all the people who keep reviewing this story, you mean so much to me. Okay, here we go!

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**  
Chapter 7:**

"Sara honey, wake up." I softly caressed her cheek. We'd fallen asleep on the couch together, the previous night. We had been watching a movie and I noticed the TV is still on. When Sara didn't wake at my touch, I got up and move to the kitchen, deciding to let her sleep some longer while I prepared breakfast.

She still hadn't told me about what had happened between her and Greg in the kitchen. We had just pretended nothing was going, feeling both comfortable with the idea we wouldn't have to talk about it. I had already promised myself to wait for her to start about it, but now I admitted to myself that it started bugging me. When I finished breakfast I walked back to the living room, finding Sara awake on the couch.

"Good morning." I smiled. Carefully I set the tray with breakfast down on the coffee table and walked back to the kitchen, to get the coffee. "You slept well?" I asked while I'm grabbing the mugs out of a kitchen cabinet.

"Yah, pretty well. How long have you been awake?" She asked sleepily.

"Not that long, about half an hour I think. I decided to let you sleep some longer. Guess I've been too noisy though," I joked. With two full mugs in my hands I walked back, cursing inwardly for forgetting the creamer. I set the mugs down on the coffee table as well and move to turn around. "I forgot the creamer," I said, letting out a sigh.

"That's okay, let me get it." She said and stood up. While she was in the kitchen I sat down on the couch, taking one of the plates with pancakes.

"I think we need to talk about something," she said as she walked back into the room, with coffee-creamer in her hand. "I know this isn't a good time, but there will never be a good time. I just know you want to know about what happened yesterday." She sat down next to me.

I nodded and leaned back against the headrest. "You're right."

"Well, nothing major happened, I want you to know that first. I didn't do anything I regret, I just talked to him." She paused and let out a deep sigh. 'I'm exaggerating, nothing bad happened, why should we worry about it?' After getting her plate onto her lap she continued. "Greg is in love with me," she blurted out, causing me to almost choke on my food.

"Excuse me?"

"Just like that… when they were here, he was… shocked that we were together and that's why he went to the kitchen. When I went to talk to him, he was, odd, not acting like himself. He didn't really put it into words, but I think he's in love with me," she finished. She looked a little sad, and I knew this was hurting her. Greg was one of her best friends, and Sara Sidle hated to hurt her friends.

I scooted closer to her after putting my plate down on the table. Carefully I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her close, seeing how her tears where starting to fall again. "Sara, there's nothing you can do about it. I'm sorry, but maybe you can talk to him sometime…" And to myself I thought: 'After me.'

She nodded against my shoulder. "Yeah… I might just do that yeah."

I felt how she rested her head on my shoulder then, and I rested mine against her. Her breaths slowed down and I noticed she was asleep again. Smiling to myself I caressed her side, causing her to stir again. She mumbled something in her half-sleep and I kissed the crown of her head. "Sshh… you need your sleep…"

* * *

A few hours later I found myself still on the couch, Sara's body partly draped over mine. My back hurt as I tried to get up, softly pushing her aside, giving her more room. "Sara honey…" I whispered. But when she didn't react, I untangled myself from her and walked to the hallway. I got the phone and dialed Catherine's number. I couldn't wait any longer to talk about what had happened, I needed it off my mind, cause I got reminded of it every single minute of the day.

"Willows." She said sleepily.

"Catherine. We need to talk, now." I almost bark into the phone, not bothering to apologize for the time I'm calling.

"Wait, why so fast? Can't we wait some longer?"

"No, I need to get it off my mind Cath, and so does Sara." I respond.

"Have you asked her about that?" She said with a snort.

"That's none of your business." I retorted.

I heard how she sighed. "There's no need to be mad at me Gil, you're together now, it doesn't matter anymore. Let's just postpone it okay?"

When I wanted to answer her again I felt Sara's arm around my waist. "Who are you talking to?"

I held the phone against my shoulder so Catherine couldn't hear our conversation. "Catherine… we all need to talk about what happened. I need to know why she did it." Sara silenced me with her index finger against my lip.

"So do I Griss… but right now it's more important to me to talk to Greg. The conversation with Catherine, which we're definitely going to have, can wait." She told me softly, and I realized the truth in her words. Maybe it really could wait.

Bringing the phone to my ear again I told Catherine we could postpone it, not saying when yet though, we didn't know. With a sigh I turn around and put my arm around Sara's waist, after placing the phone back on the hook.

"Thank you," she whispered softly, and leaned in to softly kiss me. This wasn't the first kiss we shared but I felt it was more special. She eagerly opened her mouth to me as I pulled her closer. Our tongues danced together, and after what seemed like hours we pulled apart.

"I'll go get some groceries," I whispered against her lips. "There's no more fruit left."

"You can do that later, we have other business to do." She said suggestively.

"Sara," I sighed. "I need to take care of you, let me get some fruit for you."

She nodded and watched me open the door. I turned back with a grin. "Keep that thought in mind."

* * *

**TBC**

_Did you like it? Hate it? Or anything else? Tell me please :) Reviews keep me going _**  
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	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **_They're not mine! Don't sue...  
_**A/N: **_Thanks to Mel for the beta, you rock! I wrote this in a hurry, and I finished 9 too already, so you can expect that one pretty soon. I hope you like it, please review..._

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Greg's POV:

A loud knock on my front door wakes me from my restless slumber. 'Who is showing up at my door at this time?' I think to myself and nestle my head into my pillow. I don't feel like getting up at all, so I pretend I'm not at home... It's useless, the knocking increases every second and I get out of my bed with a groan.

"Greg I know you're at home, please open the door." It's Grissom, damnit.

"I'm coming!" I yell, and get dressed into a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt.

When I open the door Grissom stalks in almost immediately, not bothering to wait for an invitation. "Why are you here?" I ask.

"I'm asking you to stay away from Sara, she's weak now… and she's not able to deal with your lovesick behavior."

I snort. "Okay, that's pretty straight to the point… boss."

He sighs and sits down on my couch, again without invitation. I sit down on the opposite chair and watch him fumble with something in his pocket. I wonder what it is, but decide not to pay too much attention to it just yet. Grissom will tell me when he's ready, right?

"Greg, I'm sorry. I just… when this all happened, I thought I was going to lose her, that she was might going after you." He swallows. "When she told me that you might were in love with her… I thought that she was going to leave me." He hangs his head down.

I'm speechless, and clueless on how I have to respond to this. Is there a way that I can assure him that Sara is not going anywhere?

"Grissom, she's not going to leave you." I say at first, awaiting his reaction.

When he looks up to me, I dare to elaborate. "When I told her, or better, tried to tell her that I've been in love with her for quite some time… she… I could read in her eyes that she's not feeling the same. I'm okay with that, I just… I just have to accept the fact that she's madly in love with you."

He looks at me, confusion readable in his eyes. "She's really in love with me?"

I nod. "She's head over heels for you man."

He takes some time to process what I just told him. When he's processed it all he reaches into his pocket again and pulls out a velvet box. 'Oh my God, he's going to propose to her.'

"Oh, Grissom… you shouldn't, I know you like me… but this is not going to work. Plus, Sara won't like it." I joke.

He furrows his brows and looks at me. "Greg," he says with a deep sigh. "Stop fooling around. I need your help."

"Uhm, okay. As long as it doesn't involve a rash."

"That was an experiment. This is something personal. I want you to take a photo of me, with this box in my hand."

I smile. "Anything for the boss man. She'll like this."

I'm excited. This is certainly one of the most original proposals I've ever heard about. Getting my camera from another room, I ask Grissom where he wants it to be taken.

He ponders for some time and then I see his face light up. "The locker room," he says, leaving me wondering why in hell he would want this picture to be taken at work.

* * *

But I don't ask him, I just comply and drive with him to the lab. Surveying the area of the locker room, seeing if anybody is in there, we get in. He kneels down on one knee, and I can't help but laugh. This must seem so ridiculous to anybody who sees this.

"Greg, just take the photo already. I don't have all day."

"Alright," I say and snap the photo.

I'm glad it's a Polaroid camera, so I can hand the photo to Grissom immediately. He seems satisfied with the result, judging by his smile.

"Greg, you have to go home. I think Sara is coming to talk to you. Take this photo with you and give it to her, once you've cleared up your issues. If she asks where I am, tell her I am at the place where I realized I couldn't live without her anymore. Understood?"

"Yes boss," I say with a grin, and get out of the building. I can't wait to see Sara's face.

* * *

When I get home, I place the photo upside down under a book on the coffee table, Sara is not supposed to see it immediately. After I've made sure she can't see it I get myself something to drink.

I stare into my refrigerator and notice I don't have much. 'I really should do some shopping some time soon.' I think to myself as I get a bottle of water. Opening the cap I take a long sip. At the moment I'm taking another sip, I hear a knock on my front door. 'That must be Sara.'

Opening the door I'm greeted by the tall brunette. She gives me a small smile. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," I say as I open the door further. When she's inside I close it, and turn to look at her.

"Greg…" She starts. "I'm sorry about what happened. I should've told you first."

I smile at her. "Sara, it's okay. You didn't know," I say and gesture towards the couch. "Please sit down for a moment."

"Okay," she says softly and sits down. I notice she's been crying on her way over here, and I'm wondering why. I don't want her to be sad; I'm not worth her sorrow.

"Greg, I am really sorry."

"Sara," I cut her off again. "It's fine. I'll be fine. What's most important to me is that you've found someone, and that you're happy," I say, swallowing my own tears away, before brushing hers off her cheeks. "Grissom loves you very much, and if he's the guy who makes you happy… well, then I am happy for you."

She smiles through her tears. "Thank you so much Greg, I just hate to see you hurt."

"It's okay Sara," I say. "Really." I get off the couch and sit on the coffee table in front of her. I grab her hands into mine and squeeze them reassuringly. After that I pull her in a hug and feel how she wraps her arms around me.

"I do love you Greg… you're a very good friend," she whispers softly.

I smile again. "And I love you too," I whisper. "As a very good friend."

I get up from the table and get the photo from underneath the book. "I've got something for you, but you have to close your eyes first."

As she obeys I slip the photo in her hands and place a soft kiss on her forehead. "Okay, you can open them again."

I see how she looks at the photo, tears forming in her eyes again. "Oh my God," she says and traces her index finger over the surface of the photo. "Oh my God," she says again.

She cries now and smiles through her tears. I smile at her reaction and feel my own eyes burn as well. "Grissom has something to ask you," I say. "He told me to tell you to come to the place where he first realized he couldn't live his life without you."

"W-Where is that?" She chokes.

"I don't know Sar… I don't know. I think you have to look for him yourself."

"Thank you Greg, thank you!" She exclaims before leaving my house in a hurry. She's on a mission; she needs to find her fiancée.

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**TBC**


	9. Chapter 9

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own them, sadly enough. If I'd had a lot, a terrible lot of money I'd buy them.  
**Thanks:** Kacee! For the wonderful beta as always, it's okay that you forgot at first, mesa isn't mad at you! Huggles to Mel as well for always helping me, and ofcourse for the ideas for the next chappie!  
**A/N:** Okay, sorry about the delay you all. Please don't be mad at me! I hope you all like this, and please leave me a review. I've gotone more chapter and an epilogue to go, please stick with me._

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**Chapter 9/10:**

Sara's POV:

I still can't believe that Grissom proposed to me, and how. It's very original, I think with a smile. Driving in the direction of his townhouse, I drum my fingers on the steering wheel. I really have no idea where he first realized he needs me in his life, so my first guess is his apartment, because I came there when I was released from the hospital.

Finally getting there, I jump out of the car and rush towards the door. I knock loudly on the door, waiting for a reaction. When I don't get one, I knock again, harder this time. Again no reaction.

I let out a deep sigh, and walk in the direction of my car. It's then that I hear a door open, at his neighbors. I turn around and see the petite woman in the door opening. "He's not at home ma'am. He didn't come back before he left after you this morning," she says with a smile.

"Thank you, ma'am," I say politely.

"Oh please call me Emma, dear. And why are you so desperate to talk to him anyway?" She's nosey… I knew that, I remember Grissom telling me once.

"Okay, Emma, Gris- Gil left me a photo, and now I have to find him. He uhm…" I wasn't sure if I could tell he proposed to me. Then she would want to know what my answer was, and deep down I knew he would want to be the first to know.

But then I realize Greg probably knows too, judging by my reaction. "He proposed to me," I blurt out.

She smiles brightly. "Oh, and what did you say, dear?"

"I'm planning to say yes. He left me a photo, with him kneeling down. He told me to find him," I say.

"Well, congratulations and good luck."

"Thank you." I smile, before hopping into my car once again. I see how she gets inside, and closes the door again.

* * *

'Where is he?' I wonder to myself. It is possible that he is at my apartment… but then again, I was pretty mad at him back then. It seems unlogical for him to have realized it at that moment. 'The hospital? No, I don't think so.'

My last option is work, he is there most of the time, so it seems logical to me. I put the key in the ignition and drive out of the driveway.

As I make my way to work I smile brightly when the parking lot comes into view. His car is indeed parked there. 'That means he must have realized it here.' I think, while parking my car next to his.

Walking into the lab, I'm greeted by Judy, the receptionist. I want to walk further, but decide I can just ask her where he is. "Judy, do you know where Grissom is?" I ask her.

She smiles at me. "I think I just saw him enter his office Ms. Sidle."

"Thanks Judy," I say, and walk in the direction of his office.

When I open the door of his office my tears start to fall again by seeing him sitting behind his desk. I get in slowly, trying to not disturb him and close the door behind me.

He looks up however, aware of my presence. I smiled brightly at him and see how he gets up from behind his desk. I wipe away my tears, before launching myself into his arms. "YES!" I yell, and kiss him hard.

He kisses me back, his arms around my waist. "Thank you honey, thanks for making me the happiest man on this planet… I love you so much," he whispers.

"I love you too."

We are both so involved with each other, that we don't notice somebody's presence in the room until we hear how she clears her throat. We untangle ourselves, and reluctantly let go of one another before turning to face Catherine, who's wearing a big Cheshire grin on her face.

"Finally!" She exclaims, looking from me to Grissom and back. "Gil, Sara, congratulations!" She smiles brightly, before hugging us both. "Come on Sara, we're going to find you a dress," she says, grabbing my hand.

Grissom interrupts her. "Cath, thank you. But… I think we have some things to discuss first. I want you to tell us why you snapped that photo of Sara."

Her face falls. I don't think this is what she had in mind when she went into Grissom's office just moments ago. "Right, well…" She says. "When I saw Sara in the locker room a few weeks ago, this nice idea entered my mind. I thought that if you saw here like this… you would maybe realize how much you needed her," she explains, looking at Grissom.

"You shouldn't have interfered with our relationship," Grissom tells her.

"Gil…" She sighs. "You're together now, it doesn't matter anymore."

"It does, if you hadn't interfered with this, Sara wouldn't have had pneumonia…"

"Grissom…" I say, trying to calm him down somewhat. The photo doesn't bother me anymore, Catherine is right, it did bring us together.

"No Sara. I want her to realize what she did."

"Gil, if I hadn't snapped that photo, you would've never gotten your head out of your ass."

"Catherine," he says warningly, and I place my hand on his arm.

"Grissom, let's just forget it okay? I'm fine with it now. It's not important anymore. I'm sure Cath will never do something like this, ever again."

"No, and I don't have to. Besides, she scared the hell out of me," Catherine says. "And uh… Gil, I think you want to give your fiancée her ring," she adds with a glare at the velvet box that's lying on my desk.

"Okay, right. But you'll have to leave now."

Catherine pouts, before leaving the room slowly. I walk after her to shut the blinds when she peeks through them from the other side.

"Sara," he says, and I turn back to him.

I smile softly as he opens the box. "Oh my God, it's beautiful Griss… I don't know what to say."

"Say you'll marry me, that's you'll be my wife, and the mother of my children," he says, a tear rolling down his cheek.

"Yes, I'll be your wife, and I'll be the mother of you children." I have to cry as I say this, and he slips the ring onto my finger.

It's a beautiful ring. Silver with a small diamond in the middle. "I love you so much." This is the last thing I say before covering his lips with my own for a passionate kiss.

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**A/N2: **_Okay, thanks for reading. Now press that líl' pretty button on the left and tell me what you think. Won't take long I promise!_


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: Sorry for the delay, I'm just trying to finish so many fics at once and it's kinda busy. Also I'm in the middle of exams, so I don't have very much time on my hands. Thanks a lot to **UnspokenLoves** for the beta! You rock hun! I hope you all like it, sorry about the bad fluff, it's not my thing. Read and review please!_**

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Chapter 10/10

Sara's POV:

"Sara," he said, linking our hands together and giving me a little smile. "Do you want to have dinner with me?"

I grinned, this is the same question I asked him a few years ago; but I'm not planning to say 'no'. "I'd love to," I said before giving him a kiss on his cheek.

He looked at me surprised. "What was that for?"

"Can't I just kiss my fiancée whenever I want to?" I asked with a pout, before leaning over and kissing him on his lips. My hand left his, only to wrap around his neck to shift closer to him. Our kiss grew more passionate every second and I was afraid that if I wouldn't pull back, we would end up making love on the couch.

I didn't want that. I wanted our first time to be special. Of course we'd been close to making love, but we hadn't yet. There would be time for that tonight. Now we were going out for dinner.

"Griss," I murmured against his lips before pulling back. "We should go baby… Otherwise the restaurant will be closed by the time we get there."

He raised an eyebrow and I chuckled. "Okay, nothing here in Vegas closes ever, but you get the point, I want to get some food in my system. I'll need the energy later," I said with a wink and he smiled at me, pulling me up from the couch.

"Let's go then," he said and I placed my hand on his arm while he led me out of the house.

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When we arrived at the small little restaurant, Grissom led me to our table. He pulled back one of the chairs to help me sit down, such a gentleman. I smiled at him and waited for him to sit down as well.

"Thank you so much for everything," I spoke, after ordering a red wine. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you at first, I know I should have."

He gives me a small smile and reaches for my hand across the table. "Don't be sorry honey; your reaction was just normal. You didn't know."

She grins slightly. "How's your arm?"

"It's getting better, thanks." He smiles at me and hands me a menu. "This restaurant serves vegetarian, I'll order vegetarian as well, if you want me to."

I opened my menu card. "If you want to eat meat, that's fine by me."

"Thank you," he said to me before turning to the waiter. "I'll have a Hawaiian Swordfish au Poivre."

The waiter turned to me. "I'll have the Mediterranean Baked Tomatoes."

When the waiter took back the menu's and walked away, I turned to Grissom with a raised eyebrow. "Swordfish?"

He chuckled. "I just wanted to try something different," he said with a wink, taking a sip of his wine.

I laughed. The rest of our dinner is spent in silence, as we both enjoy each other's company as well as our meal. The swordfish didn't look as bad as I'd expected.

* * *

After our nice dinner Grissom blindfolded me and led me into the car. "You can't see anything right?" He asked, touching my shoulder lightly.

I chuckled. "I see black, does that count?" I joked.

"Smartass," he said before driving the car out of the parking lot and onto the Strip. I had no idea where we were heading. The only thing I could hear, was the noise of the car and casino's. That sound soon faded and I suspected we were driving out of Vegas.

"Are we almost there?" I asked, trying to place my hand on his arm, but catching his thigh. I felt my cheeks redden immediately and quickly withdrew my hand. "Sorry," I mumbled.

He didn't respond. He kept on driving and I noticed how he changed lanes, we probably almost reached destination. Slowly the car came to a stop and I heard how Grissom got out of the car. A few moments later the door on my side opened and he helped me step out.

The air was nice and warm, and I felt how he held me when we walked away from the car. He took off my blindfold and my hands flew to my mouth. "Oh my, you shouldn't have. This is too much," I said, my eyes getting watery.

Before me laid a blanket with candles on the sides. There was a cold bottle of champagne with two glasses, and in the middle of the blanket sat a small package. He helped me sit down and poured the champagne in the glasses. "To us," he said, as we raised and clinked our glasses together.

After taking a sip, he put his champagne out of the way and grabbed the package. "This is for you honey," he said, handing it to me.

I put my champagne out of the way as well and took the package from him. I shook it slightly to see if I could hear its contents. I couldn't, so I decided to open it very carefully.

It was an antique compass. "Thank you so much," I said, throwing my arms around his neck and kissing him passionately.

"There's also an inscription," he said, turning the object in my hands.

I raised it closer to my eyes and read out loud. " 'You will never lose me' ," I said. I looked at the other side again to see where the needle was pointing. It was pointing straight to my heart.

I put it aside and kissed him passionately. I pushed him back on the blanket and straddled him while our lips kept pressed against each other. He sucked on my bottom lip and his hands wandered over my back and under my shirt.

I shivered involuntarily and loosened myself from his mouth. I smiled at him before leaning down and kissing him again, but then I felt something on my back. I opened my eyes, let go of him and rolled to the side. It had started raining, the candles had extinguished and our clothes were getting wet.

When he wanted to pull me up to get to the car I resisted. I grinned playfully at him and said: "Let's play a game."

He looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "In this weather?"

I grinned. "Even better. Let's play _Hide and Seek_," I suggested. "You close your eyes and count till twenty, I'll hide."

He nodded and closed his eyes. I ran off playfully. "Don't peek," I yelled at him before hiding behind one of the many trees.

"Nineteen, twenty… Ready or not, here I come," he said and I heard how he started walking. "Sara, come out, where-ever you are."

I didn't respond; I knew better than that. I grinned and tried to keep myself from laughing. I was imagining Grissom walking around, looking behind trees. The thought was just too funny.

Then suddenly I felt an arm grab me. "Found you," he said playfully.

I smiled and wrapped my arms around him. My clothes were soaked, as were his and we were a little sticky. Our clothes stuck together as he pushed my wet hair behind my ears.

We kissed passionately and he pressed me against the tree, his mouth devouring mine. His tongue was begging for entrance, which I gradually allowed. I wrapped my arms around his shoulder, dragging my nails across his wet shirt. Through the wet fabric I could clearly feel his muscles contract and I moaned into his mouth.

Then I pulled away from him and grabbed his hand. "We should take this to a drier place."

He chuckled. "And you didn't want to when I suggested it?"

I grinned. "Nope."

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**TBC **_(last chapter is the epilogue)_


	11. Epilogue

_A/N: Here it is, the last chapter of this fic. Now it's finished, and I have to admit that I'm going to miss this loads. You guys can so look out for a sequel! Thanks a lot to **fanofkdc** for the beta!

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_**Epilogue**

I looked around the room, at the many faces, faces I didn't know. Of course I saw a few familiar faces, he'd introduced me a few years ago. I couldn't remember their names. The one with the dark hair, that was... Rick. Oh no, Nick. And there, in that red dress... the blonde. I thought hard. Caroline or something...

Well anyway, I made my way through the crowd and walked in the direction of the groom's room. I knocked on the wood before entering the room. He was having trouble with his tie and didn't see me come in. I walked over to him and tapped him on his shoulder.

"Mom!" He exclaimed and hugged me tightly. He dropped his tie and held me close. He mumbled something in my shoulder, I felt the vibrations. I pulled back and grinned at him.

/ _Darling, you know I can't hear you when you don't look at me_/ I joked.

He pulled back as well and turned slightly red. _/ I'm sorry_. / he signed. / _It seems like I'm not really myself today_. / He picked up his tie again. _/ Mom? Can you help me with this? Please. /_

I smiled at him. _/ Of course. /_ I signed as I fixed his tie.

The door opened and a guy came running in, out of breath, his shirt partly out of his pants and his tie not tied as it had to be tied. I raised my eyebrow and looked at Gil. He smiled goofily. _/ Mom, this is Greg Sanders. He's a witness. / _

I smiled at the guy. "Hello Greg, I'm Elizabeth Grissom, nice to meet you," I said.

He smiled back politely. "Nice to meet you too Mrs. Grissom." He remembered to look at me so I could read his lips. He articulated nicely, and I didn't have problems with understanding him.

"Oh, please... call me Liz," I said.

He'd turned back at Gil. I couldn't make out what he was saying, but I could see what Gil was saying back. "I know Greg, I'll go now. Can you please accompany my mother into the church?"

He then started to leave the room but I grabbed his arm, turning him back towards me. _/ Don't you dare leave without saying something to your mom. Good luck. / _I signed, giving him a kiss on his cheek.

He blushed slightly. _/ Thank you. /_ he signed back before heading to the altar.

I'm glad he decided to get married in a church, although he didn't follow his religion anymore. The thought made me sad, there wasn't a more beautiful thing than religion. Or was there? Well, maybe love, and my son was in love. I couldn't be more excited about him getting married to the woman he'd been talking about for years.

I realized Greg was still in the room and turned back to face him. "I'm sorry, I got carried away," I apologize.

"It's okay, I understand," he responded. "Now let's get to the church, shall we?" He said, taking my arm.

I stopped him. "Not before we've finished you up," I said, reaching out to fix his tie. He grinned at me. "And now put your dress-shirt in your pants. Or do you want me to do that for you as well?" I asked, giving him a wink.

He turned beet red. "Uhm, no, that'll be fine Liz." He said, putting his shirt in his pants. After he had done so, he gave me a goofy grin. "Better?" He asked and I pointed at his hair. "Oh, well that's useless, it won't get down, no matter how hard I try."

"Okay, fine. Let's go then," I said smiling.

Once we were sitting in the church, front row, the music started. At least that was what I figured when I saw a man at the piano. Too bad I wouldn't ever be able to hear music again, and for a moment I thought back to my own wedding. I remembered the music as if I only heard it yesterday. I was pregnant with Gil, and it had been the most amazing day of my life.

But now I was deaf, and the only thing I could ever hear was the beating of my heart in my ears, and my blood streaming to my veins. I hated it, but there was nothing to be done, surgery wouldn't help anymore. Thinking about that, I felt very glad that Gil's surgery had been successful.

But God knew, I knew, and Gil knew that it was hereditary. I didn't know if he'd already talked with Sara about that; I hoped he had. It would be a pretty big shock to her once she found out that their child would have about fifty percent chance of being born deaf.

But I knew, from what Gil told me, that he had told her about his surgery and how he was teaching her how to sign. I smiled, drifting far away in memories and thoughts. Then Greg gently placed his hand on my arm and I turned to him. He smiled politely. "There she comes," he said.

I turned my head and looked at the aisle. There she walked, in a beautiful long white gown. It was simple, but very feminine. The dress was strapless, and the top was all set with small dark red stones. Her flowers were dark red roses, mixed with white lilies. She was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen and I quickly looked to the front to see Gil standing with his mouth agape.

I smiled and turned my head back to the aisle. She would be given away by the guy I saw earlier, Nick. I wondered for a brief moment why no-one from her family was here, but I set that thought away quickly. Maybe their bond wasn't that good, or maybe they couldn't arrange to come over to Las Vegas. It made me think about how lucky I was to be able to witness their wedding.

And Gil certainly hadn't exaggerated about Sara. She really was very beautiful. She wasn't wearing much make-up; she didn't need it, she was a natural beauty. Her hair was curled and partly pinned up, with a lot of loose strands framing her face. Her eyes were sparkling and she was smiling broadly.

I noticed how she locked eyes with Gil as she approached the altar. These two people shared a bond so powerful, most people could only dream about. When she had passed me I saw Gil break eye contact for a second. He gave me a quick smile, before turning his attention back to his soon-to-be wife.

A while later the ceremony began. It bothered me not to know what was said, for they didn't look at me directly when speaking. But of course, out of experience, I knew what was said and I found myself, once again, drifting back to the day I married Gil's father.

The ceremony took a long time, and I got a little bored, so I decided to let my eyes travel through the church. I looked at all the happy faces, co-workers I think. They all seemed very happy about them getting married, and I couldn't blame them. Gil wasn't getting any younger, so it was about time for him to finally settle down. I grinned to myself, and thought about when it would be the best time to start talking about grandchildren.

I wasn't sure if they'd talked about that yet, but Sara wasn't getting any younger either, and her biological clock was ticking. So if they wanted children, they would have to try soon. I couldn't wait to be a grandmother, I've always wanted to get grandchildren, and well, I sort of gave up on that wish since Gil had been alone for about fifty years.

The end of the ceremony was near, because I saw an older man coming walking in their direction, the rings in his hands. He seemed slightly older than Gil, maybe three years. I was almost sure I met him before, and I thought hard. Something with a B, Bass, Boss, no… Brass. That was him, Jim Brass.

When they had exchanged rings, they leaned into each other and shared a passionate kiss. Greg started applauding and when I looked around I saw everyone applauding. I smiled and joined them. Then I noticed how Greg brought his hands to his mouth, and I figured he whistled. When the couple ended their kiss they smiled at everybody and I took it as a sign that the ceremony had ended.

After the ceremony I finally had some time to talk to Gil and Sara - everybody had left the church, except for them. I approached the couple with a big grin on my face. Gil turned to me. "Mom, this is my wife Sara. Sara this is my mother, Elizabeth Grissom."

I made a face. _/ Darling, you know I hate that name. It's Liz. /_

He grinned. _/ I know mom, sorry. /_ He wrapped his arm around Sara's waist and pulled her close to his side. He kissed her temple and turned his attention back to me. "So, what did you think of the ceremony?"

My son was very intelligent, but sometimes he didn't really think before talking, like now. _/ You know I couldn't follow it. But I did take my time to admire my daughter-in-law, she's beautiful Gil. / _

He smiled. _/ Yeah, she really is/_ he signed back to me.

Sara loosened herself from my grip. _/ I'm standing right here/ _she signed, and I was impressed. She could sign very smooth, much better than other people who were still learning. _/ And thanks for the compliment Liz. /_ she signed with a blush on her cheeks.

I smiled. _/ You're welcome Sara. /_ I figured it would be better to talk to her, she wouldn't be able to hold up with everything. "You can't believe how glad I am to have a daughter-in-law like you. Gil really is lucky with you," I said with a wink.

"Thank you, that's very kind of you," she responded politely before gazing lovingly at Gil. I felt a little like an intruder, but they would have to wait until their wedding night to attack each other. We still had a dinner and a party to go.

"So, are you going to make this old lady happy with a grandchild any time soon?" I asked right out of the blue, and I saw the shocked look on their faces. Probably not, I guessed…

_/ Mom. / _Gil signed warningly.

I grinned. _/ What. /_

But before Gil could sign anything back, Sara responded. _/ I'm sorry Liz, but I think you have to wait another nine months. /_

_/ Oh, I see. / _ I smiled. _/ You guys are going to try tonight... /_

Sara looked confused but Gil explained to me. "She is pregnant, she wanted to say you have to wait another seven months, she confused the number 9 with the number seven."

I smiled, those signs did indeed look a lot like each other. For the seven you touch your ring finger to your thumb, and for the nine you touch your index finger to your thumb. I remembered the numbers confused me very much when I was learning to sign, now it was as easy as talking, maybe even easier.

Sara smiled and I signed both the seven and the nine again. _/ Sorry, I'm still learning. / _she signed.

_/ That's okay honey, you do very good. / _ I signed slower than I did at Gil, so she could keep up better. I saw how a frown appeared on her forehead as she read my signs.

_/ Thank you. /_

I hugged Sara close to me and I felt how my eyes were getting wet. I pulled back and smiled at her. "Congratulations." And I turned to Gil. "To both of you."

_/ Thanks mom. I'm glad you came. / _he signed at me before he pulled Sara against his chest. He put his hands on her belly, and I noticed how it had swollen a little. But if you didn't know she was pregnant, you wouldn't see it.

Sara smiled at me. "You'll have to come visit us soon Liz," she said. "And, of course, when the baby is born."

"I will Sara," I responded. "And now let's get to the party, shall we?" I asked before grabbing her arm and directing her out of the church, followed closely by Gil. This was going to be an evening to remember…

**The End**


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